Jesse Biddle

Jesse Thomas Biddle (born October 22, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization. Biddle stands 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm) tall and weighs 215 pounds (98 kg). He bats and throws left-handed.

Biddle grew up in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and he attended the Germantown Friends School, a Quaker School in the neighboring Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. He competed in the Friends School League. As a junior, Biddle went 5–0 with a 0.64 ERA, striking out 61 batters in 33 innings pitched; in his senior year, he was 9–2 with a 1.04 ERA, striking out 140 batters in  59 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Biddle was selected in the first round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, going 27th overall. Although he had committed to play for the University of Oregon baseball program, he agreed to a contract with the Phillies on June 10, with a signing bonus of $1.16 million.

In his first season, he amassed a 3–1 win–loss record, 41 strikeouts, and 9 walks in  33 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched in the Gulf Coast League. In 2011, Biddle was pitching for the Lakewood BlueClaws, the single A affiliate of the Phillies. In 2011, Baseball America named Biddle the #2 prospect in the Phillies organization, and in 2012 Baseball America named Biddle the #1 prospect in the Phillies organization.

On April 22, 2013, with the Reading Fightin' Phils, Biddle posted 16 strikeouts in a game in Harrisburg against the Senators, breaking the previous record of 13 for his team.

On July 7, 2015, Biddle was promoted to the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. The next day, he made his Triple-A debut, giving up 7 earned runs on 5 hits and 6 walks in  2 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched. Following the 2015 season, Biddle underwent Tommy John surgery.

On February 3, 2016, the Phillies traded Biddle to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Yoervis Medina. The Pirates designated him for assignment on March 11. Biddle was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves on March 19.

Biddle's main pitch is his four-seam fastball, which he can throw up to 94 miles per hour (151 km/h), and throws comfortably in the 90–93 mph range. He has a changeup and a slider, both of which he throws in the low 80s, a 12-to-6 curveball in the low-to-mid 70s, and a two-seam fastball in the mid-to-high 80s.

Biddle grew up in Mount Airy with his parents, David and Marion, and his brothers, Sam and Conor.